Two Brothers Pictures drama follows dual timeline of man convicted for murdering his family

Two Brothers Pictures is to produce a dual-timeline ITV thriller following a man who returns home after a conviction for the brutal murder of his family.

The multiple Bafta and RTS award-winning actor, writer and producer Lennie James will star as Matthew, who returns to his Portugal home years after his sentence.

In Nightswimming, the narrative moves between the past and present to pick apart the events that led up to the devastating night when Matthew’s wife, Beth and two teenage sons Alex and Simon, were attacked in their beachfront home while Matthew was out swimming.

In the present, Matthew mounts his own investigation, revisiting broken relationships and interrogating the people who built the case against him, to unpick what happened a decade before.

James described Nightswimming as a “juicy, grownup thriller about family, love, loss, betrayal, redemption and the price of justice”.

He added: “Matthew is the kind of character I love to play, full of complexity, contradiction and conviction. This is top notch storytelling, and I’m chuffed to be a part of it.”

Two Brothers’ managing directors Harry and Jack Williams will write the series. The siblings have previously made Liar, Cheat and Strangers for ITV1 through their label, now part of Banijay UK.

ITV’s director of drama Polly Hill will oversee the production, with Harry and Jack Williams exec producing alongside Daisy Mount, Sarah Hammond and James.

Cleo Hetherington is co-exec producing whilst Georgina Lowe is producer and Kelly Valentine-Hendry is the casting director. Filming will begin in Portugal in spring 2027.

“I am delighted to be working with Harry and Jack again,” said Hill. “Nightswimming is an incredible thriller with all the twists and surprises you would expect from them. It will keep the audience on the edge of their seat.”

The Williams brothers added: “We absolutely relished writing Nightswimming, it’s a small-town thriller with a morally murky edge, grounded in a knotty, complex character.